The Hai-jinks in the world of Japanese video gaming continues apace with Ninja Gaiden publisher, Tecmo, probably very politely telling Final Fantasy publisher, Square Enix, that it's declined the latters offer to acquire it.

Tecmo is instead considering a merger with Warriors Orochi maker, Koei.

It was only last week that Square made loud noises regarding its bid for Tecmo. The weight of Square appeared - even to SPOnG - to ensure a done deal. So, this switch by the smaller company comes as something of a surprise. A consolidation of Tecmo and Koei would also reflect a new movement in Japanese gaming in straitened times (at least for those companies not making Nintendo-based cash).

How solid is the Tecmo and Koei deal? Well, the companies have already issued a joint statement to the press which, according to Malaysia News, includes the following, "Through a merger, we expect we can grow further by respecting both companies' identities and having an environment in which employees can fully exhibit their skills."

So, pretty solid then.